Jaymar Packaging Ltd, Crewe, has announced details of an upgrade to its B1 pre-press system by purchasing an Agfa Avalon N8 engine to take over from its existing Screen PT-R 8000. The machine was purchased from Dennison Group who then sub-contracted Prepress UK to provide a pre-press audit, software upgrades, and calibration of the company’s two manroland R700 B1-format printing presses.

Dennison Group has been a long-term pre-press partner for Jaymar, and its relationship with Prepress UK, independent suppliers of software solutions for pre-press and print, also goes back a number of years.

Roy Milner, Managing Director of Dennison Group, commenting on the installation, said: “With spares becoming ever more difficult to obtain for the Screen unit, we were delighted to be able to assist long-standing customer Jaymar. The refurbished Avalon is the ideal CtP solution for this busy packaging business.”

Commenting from Jaymar’s perspective, Gary Marsh, Production Director, said: “At Jaymar we pride ourselves on working to exceptionally short lead times. With our ageing Screen unit we could see potential issues in the future should the CtP fail. We tasked Dennison Group to find us a newer CtP in order to prevent any delays for our customers. We went for the “belt-and-braces” approach by installing the Agfa unit alongside the Screen unit giving us both reliability, capacity, and back-up.”

Prepress UK’s first task was to ensure that the pre-press computer systems were up to the job of serving files to this very high-speed Agfa CtP engine.

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After remotely auditing the existing system, Prepress UK recommended two Xitron RasterBlaster Pro systems – these provide intelligent, organised plate production to virtually any pre-press workflow, regardless of manufacturer. This software was installed on Prepress UK custom built, high-end, Windows 10 Pro PC’s incorporating RAID1 hard disk plate archives to ensure total system back-up.

These systems have then been linked to the latest Xitron Navigator 12 Harlequin RIP, again running on a bespoke Prepress UK built PC, eliminating older, unsupported computer platforms that were both security and failure risks to the company, as well as performing well below current standards.

Commenting on the upgrades, Andrew Aldridge, Technical Manager of Prepress UK, said: “With regards to custom building all our computer platforms, it's been Prepress UK’s policy for many years now that saving a few pounds on PC hardware is a false economy. You invest tens-of-thousands in CtP and hundreds-of-thousands in printing presses – why would you connect those devices with a £500 off-the-shelf PC with cheap components? For very little more money we will buy high-end branded components to build platforms specifically tailored for our industry, with built in redundant drives, the latest PCIe solid-state system disks, fast RAM, tenth generation Intel Core processors, all complete with a free 12-month on-site warranty.”

As part of the audit process Jon at Jaymar identified pinch points in the pre-press file preparation that added unnecessary complexity to their processes, so during installation Prepress UK were able to implement changes to accommodate a simplified pre-press process, allowing jobs to more easily be repurposed between the two manroland printing presses.

After the CtP and pre-press installations were completed, dot gain calibration of both printing presses were established and fed into the system to allow Jaymar to move further towards its desired ISO 12647-2 colour standards.

Regarding print quality issues, Jaymar’s Gary Marsh added: “Being able to turn jobs round quickly on its own is not enough to secure continued custom. Here at Jaymar we are heavily focused on quality. By calibrating both CtP units and finger printing both presses for UV inks and conventional inks we feel we are in a strong position to maintain and improve our reputation for best quality print within the industry.”

About Jaymar Packaging

Established in 1977, Jaymar Packaging Limited is a privately-owned company which specialises in designing and manufacturing bespoke carton board packaging solutions for a wide range of SME and blue-chip industries. Operating to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001:2015 standards, the company prides itself on offering a high standard of service and quality which is reflected by the stable customer base and the number of referrals it receives.

For further information see http://jaymar.co.uk

About Dennison Group

Dennison Group overarching USP is the company’s ability to understand our client production requirements, then supply suitable and affordable products with ongoing maintenance packages, a must in today cost sensitive environment.

Whether it’s the lasted technology in automated CtP systems and associated software to industrial inkjet printing and finishing equipment from many of the industry’s leading manufacturers, the Dennison Group team has the knowledge, the expertise and the tools to optimise overall equipment efficiency, reducing downtime and enhancing productivity.

See https://www.dennisongroup.co.uk for more information.

About Prepress UK

Prepress UK is an independent developer and supplier of printing hardware and software. The company is able to provide significant experience and a professional and reliable approach to solving print production problems. Based in Brighton, UK, the company provides specialised software solutions backed by an unparalleled personal service from initial enquiry through to post-sales support. Prepress UK develops and supplies cost-effective device-independent prepress workflows; CIP3 pre-press and press integration systems; JDF press reporting systems, as well as colour management expertise.